She's All I Need
by scubysnak
Summary: Catherine realizes that Sara is all that she needs. Focuses on her pursuit of Sara. CatherineSara pairing. Femslash. Chap 20 is up
1. Chapter 1

"I'm gonna need some guys on this with me," Catherine called out to Grissom as he left the scene.

"You've got Sara," he answered as he walked away.

"She's all I need," Catherine smiled and said to no one in particular. She went back to working the scene while she waited on Sara to arrive. She couldn't quite put her finger on when her feelings toward her stubborn coworker had first began to change. For the first few years, she was intent on making Sara Sidle feel like an outsider. She cringed inwardly as she thought of some of the things she had said to Sara over the years. _I guess whenever the spirit moves you. In your case, that would be never._

And then there had been the way she treated her when she was investigating Eddie's death. Sara was probably the most intense and thorough CSI at the lab and Catherine had managed to treat her like she wasn't capable of cleaning a crime scene much less investigating one. She basically told her that if she had been doing her job, she would have caught Eddie's killer. Inside though, Catherine knew that Sara had done a better job than anyone else could have done.

And then there was the jerk that Sara had been dating. Sara had no idea she was the other woman. It took her investigating a case that Hank was involved in as a victim to uncover the truth. She had been so crushed. Catherine suspected it wasn't so much her feelings for Hank, but the fact that she had been so easily deceived by him that had hurt her so. They had shared a drink the next morning. Catherine tried to so hard to cheer her up. It was their first foray into a possible friendship. For once, the invincible Sara was showing that even she had feelings. It was most likely at this point that Catherine's feelings toward Sara first began to change.

It was shortly after this that Sara revealed to Grissom that she had feelings for him. Grissom, in his typical Grissom fashion, had rebuffed Sara's advances. This, of course, left the door wide open for Catherine to pursue her. Then again, before she could pursue her, she would have to actually become friends with her. A friendship had to precede a relationship.

Catherine was brought back to the moment—and the crime scene—by someone placing a hand on her shoulder. She swung around and met Sara's eyes. "Gris said I was working this scene with you. What do you need me to do?"

_What do I need you to do? I need you to notice me. I need you to see how hard I'm trying to be your friend. I need you to want me as badly as I want you._

"I've been photographing and sketching the scene. Why don't you take the interior of the vehicle and see what you find," Catherine answered blankly. As Sara took her kit and walked to the crushed SUV, Catherine couldn't resist watching her. _She has no idea how sexy she is_. Catherine finished up her work on the perimeter of the crime scene a short time later and approached Sara. Sara was on her knees with a flashlight looking under the seat on the driver's side of the vehicle. Catherine eyed the patch of skin revealed by Sara's shirt riding up her back. Unable to resist, she placed her hand on the small of her back and leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Anything catch your eye yet?"

She had immediately felt Sara stiffen under her touch, but still asked her question. Sara cleared her throat and answered, "Uh---I think I'll wait til we get this back to the lab to finish going over it." She stood up and backed a few feet away from Catherine and said, "Unless there's something else you need for me to do—_on this case_—I'm heading back to the lab. Page me when they get the vehicle there and I'll go over it again." With that, Sara turned and walked back to her Denali.

**Sara **

_What the hell was she thinking? Placing her hand on my back like that and basically whispering in my ear. She's been acting differently since she found out about Grissom turning me down. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think she's flirting with me. Nah—not Catherine. First of all, she's straight. Second of all, she has a kid—and I don't do well with kids. And thirdly, we work together. Lastly, I'm not attracted to her—am I? I can't be…can I?_

The driver in the car behind her brought her back to the present as he laid on the horn. Sara woke from her reverie, saw the green light, and gunned it. Thoughts of Catherine ran through her mind as she finished driving to the lab. Catherine's truck was missing from the parking lot so she didn't have to worry about bumping into her as she entered the lab. She'd have a few minutes to collect her thoughts before the fiery woman returned. _What am I going to say when she gets here? Maybe I should just pretend like I didn't notice anything. Yeah, I think that's what I'll do._


	2. Chapter 2

_What the hell was I thinking—coming on to Sara like that? And she had to have noticed. My goodness, did you see how she reacted when I touched her and whispered in her ear? Shit, I probably just set our friendship back months. Of course, it's hard to set back what hasn't moved forward. So, what do I do now? Maybe I can just act like nothing happened. We're working this case together, so it's not like I can ignore her completely. But, I can act like my little indiscretion at the crime scene didn't happen. I'll just play it like it was no big deal. I have to make sure she sees me doing that to someone else—so she won't think it was just me coming on to her. Great…she already thinks I use my sexuality to get everything I want. Now I have to do use it to make her think I'm not hot for her—which, of course, I am. This is definitely going to be interesting._

Catherine pulled into the lab's parking lot and took notice of the fact that Sara's truck was already there. _Of course it is. She said she was going back to the lab. Play it cool, Willows._ She parked, grabbed her kit out of the truck and headed into the building. She saw the tow truck pulling the SUV from the crime scene into the vehicle processing area and knew that Sara would soon be busy processing it.

Catherine sauntered into the lab, walking past the receptionist and flashing her a quick smile. She headed straight to the evidence room to log-in her evidence. She noticed Sara standing in the lab with Wendy engaged in a conversation. They were laughing and obviously enjoying each other's company. Catherine checked in the evidence and walked back to the lab with one piece of evidence in her hand.

As she had earlier that evening with Sara, Catherine walked up to Wendy, place her one hand on her lower back, leaned down, and in a low voice, said, "Can you run this for me as soon as possible?" Without waiting for her answer, Catherine straightened herself, turned to Sara and said, "Your SUV is here. You can get busy processing it now. I've got something to take care of and then I'll check in on you and see how it's going." With that, she turned and left Sara and Wendy alone in the lab.

"See, I told you something is up with her," Sara said to Wendy. "She did the exact same thing to you that she did to me at the crime scene. "

"Well, if she did it to me to, what makes you think she meant anything by it when she did it to you?" Wendy asked Sara.

"Catherine is smart enough to know that she weirded me out when she pulled that on the scene tonight. She's probably just trying to throw me off—make me believe I'm imagining stuff."

"Yeah, Sidle. That's what she's doing. She's secretly in love with you but afraid of scaring you off. So now, she's going to hit on me to throw you off," Wendy responded with sarcasm dripping in her voice. "Did you ever consider that maybe she's just being nice? I mean, come on. Catherine uses her body to get whatever she wants. Perhaps she's just being herself. She's like that with the guys. I mean, you've seen the way she looks at Warrick. It's just Catherine being Catherine. Don't take this the wrong way, but what even makes you think that Catherine would be interested in _you_?"

"Why wouldn't she be interested in me? I'm smart. Hell, I graduated from Harvard. I'm not drop dead gorgeous, but I'm certainly not unattractive by any estimation. I work my ass off. I'm one of the top people in my field," Sara snapped.

"Yeah, and you're not exactly the most approachable person. Come on. Sara Sidle and people person aren't words you typically find in the same sentence. And you're kinda intimidating. On the plus side though, you also have this _dark, mysterious _thing going on. Some people find that sexy. But you're just so private. No one really knows anything about you," Wendy offered.

"Perhaps no one knows much about me after all these years because no one has ever tried to get to know me. From the moment I walked into this lab, people had these preconceived notions about me. And as for this "dark, mysterious" thing that you mention, I don't try to be mysterious. It's just that I'm a **very** private person. I don't want people knowing everything about me. The fact that we're even having this conversation is totally out of character for me. Grissom has known me longer than anyone else and knows the most about me. I'm not entirely comfortable with the entire lab knowing the facts of my life story."

Wendy never broke eye-contact with Sara as she simply stated, "All I'm saying is that it's very presumptuous of someone who does nothing other than work—of someone who is absent of emotion—of someone who acknowledges that she's not the friendliest person in the world—"

"Catherine could like me. She could," Sara said as she exited the lab.


	3. Chapter 3

_What's not to like? I am very smart. Graduated at the top of my class at Harvard. An Ivy-fucking-League university. Yeah, Catherine uses her body to get what she wants. That's not very different from me using my mind, is it? I dunno. The bottom line is that it's conceivable that she'd be interested in me. She's dated all sorts of jerks. And let's not forget that asshole ex-husband who got himself killed in front of her little girl. _

_I'm pretty sure she still hates me for not solving his case. I did everything I could. There was no murder weapon. There was no one with a solid motive. Maybe I shouldn't have closed the case so quickly—should've taken a little more time to ask a few more questions—do a little more investigating. _

_Wendy was right about one thing—I'm not the most approachable person. I'm not overly friendly with anyone. I've worked here for years and people barely know anything about me. Catherine made my life a living hell for the first few years. I'll never forget that "when the spirit moves you" comment that she made about a gift for Lindsay. _

_I wish I knew if she was really flirting with me or just being her typical "Catherine" self. I am one of the top crime scene investigators in the country. Maybe I can do a little investigating of my own and figure this out. _

"Curtis," Sofia answered her phone.

"Sofia, how's it going?" Sara asked the blonde detective.

"It's going well, Sar. I'm working a case right now, so I am a little busy. Was there something I could help you with?"

Sara, suddenly unsure, hedged on giving a straight answer to Sofia. "Nah, I just had a free moment and thought I'd give you a call. There was something I wanted to talk to you about, but it can wait until another day."

"Sara, let's have breakfast after the shift is over," Sofia stated bluntly.

"Uh, I'm not sure I can. Maybe another time."

"I wasn't so much asking you to have breakfast with me as I was telling you that you were having breakfast with me," Sofia declared with confidence.

"Oh. Okay then," Sara said flatly.

With a smug smile on her face, Sofia told her that she'd pick her up after shift.

Sara walked into the break room to grab a cup of coffee before heading out to go over the SUV again. All she had wanted was to ask Sofia's advice on the Catherine situation. She knew that Sofia was gay. She'd never made any bones about it. She knew that if anyone could tell her what course of action to take, it would have been her. Instead, she found herself being _told_ that she was having breakfast with her. It was just one more thing to press on Sara's mind throughout the night.

She sat in a chair in the break room, sipping on her coffee. "Sara, I thought I asked you to go ahead and finish going over that SUV? This case isn't going to solve itself. I've been down in the morgue with Doc and going over the photos from the scene. **_I_** need that SUV processed. I have a case to solve," Catherine yelled at her.

"Cath, I just walked in here to grab a cup of coffee and sit down for a few minutes before I went out there to tear the SUV apart. Sitting here for five minutes isn't going to make or break this case. Is it?" Sara angrily replied.

"Look, I'm the senior CSI on this case. If you're not going to help me with the case, just say so. I can get Greg to help or I can do it myself. I don't need you to take this laissez-faire attitude with my cases."

With that, Sara got up, poured her coffee out, and brushed past Catherine. She was mad. No, she was pissed. Obviously, Catherine thought she was incapable of doing her job—once again.

_We've been through this once before—with Eddie's death. I was the CSI in charge of investigating his death. Catherine made it perfectly clear then that I was incapable of doing my job. Now, I'm just sitting in the break room having a cup of coffee and she busts in and starts yelling at me about how to do my job. I was so stupid for entertaining the thought_ _that she might be interested in me. As much as I hate to admit it, Wendy was right. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Why do I feel the need to be such a bitch sometimes? She was so adorable sitting in there reading a magazine and sipping on her coffee. I watched her for a few minutes and then just had to barge in and bark at her like she was a child that needed to be admonished. I feel like I'm a teenage boy who feels the need to pick on the object of his affection. Why can't I just be an adult, walk up to her and say, "I like you." _

'_Well, dumbass, it's obvious she doesn't feel the same about you. You saw her in the lab with Wendy this morning. They were laughing and talking. She's never like that around you. Just give up this insane notion that she might be interested in you.'_

Catherine sat in her office completing some paperwork for half an hour before deciding she needed to bite the bullet and go talk to Sara. The shift was over, but Sara never left until she was finished working on a task set before her. Most days, Sara wouldn't even make it back to her apartment. She'd work several hours of overtime, nap, shower and change right there at the lab. Most of her coworkers were surprised that she even kept an apartment.

Catherine put her paperwork away and grabbed her purse. She'd ask Sara to join her for breakfast. Maybe over toast and coffee they could finally talk civilly to one another. Maybe Catherine would finally be able to talk to Sara—really talk to Sara.

She walked into the garage and called Sara's name. No answer. She walked over the SUV thinking that either Sara was ignoring her or was so engrossed in her work that she just didn't hear her call her name. Still no Sara. Catherine considered the possibility that Sara had finished processing the vehicle and was now in _her lab_ working. She exited the garage and walked toward the lab that Sara could always be found in. No luck there. She considered that Sara may have come across evidence in the SUV and might be in Trace, DNA, or logging evidence. As she turned to walk back down the hall towards those labs, she saw Sara walking out of the locker room. She started to call after her, but soon caught of a second figure in the hallway pushing off the wall and joining Sara as she exited the building.

_Was that—Sofia?!?_

She turned to leave and stopped to gather her thoughts.

"Hey Catherine. Is something wrong?" Wendy asked as she approached her.

"No, I was looking for Sara. No luck finding her."

"I overheard her on the phone this morning with Sofia. They made a date to have breakfast."

"A date?" Catherine asked. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I didn't know that there was anything between the two of them. Did you?"

Wendy smiled and considered the best response to Catherine's inquiries. "I think it's kinda nice. I know I haven't been here long, but Sara seems lonely. I'm sure she could use a friend or two around here. And thanks to Greg, I know she was rejected by Grissom and had issues with some other guys she dated at some point. Every one needs someone—and Sofia is hot. Sara could do a lot worse."

Shocked, all Catherine could muster was an, "Oh."

As Catherine turned to leave, Wendy grabbed her by the arm and spoke again, "You know, I was heading out. Would you like to have breakfast with me?"

"Excuse me? Uh, no, Wendy. I need to get home and spend a few minutes with Lindsay before she heads to school. Maybe another time," Catherine said flatly.


	5. Chapter 5

_It's been two weeks since I saw Sara first leaving work with Sofia. In those two weeks, I've done everything short of saying, "Sara, please be my friend." My hope is that I can gain her friendship and work on gaining more. I've asked how her day was, what plans she has after work—anything to gain her friendship. For two weeks, we've managed not to draw the same assignment, each of us being paired with one of the guys are going solo on a scene. Tonight, however, we were finally given a scene to work together. As soon as Grissom said, "Catherine & Sara—you two have a double in Henderson," my heart skipped a beat and I saw Sara cringe slightly. Oh well—any amount of time with her was worth it to me. I'm one lovesick CSI._

"I'll meet you at your truck," Catherine said to Sara as she exited the break room. "I need to grab a jacket from my locker. It's a little chilly out tonight."

"Sure. Whatever," was all that Sara said as she walked away.

_This definitely isn't going to go the way I had hoped._

Catherine walked into the locker room and went through her locked looking for a light jacket she could wear. She came up empty. She decided that she had kept Sara waiting long enough and exited the building. As she approached Sara's truck, she noticed that Sara was on the phone. She was obviously enjoying her conversation. The closer that Catherine came to the truck, the better she could read Sara's face. She was smiling.

_Who is she talking to? I wonder if it's Sofia._

"No, I'm just waiting on Catherine. Grissom assigned us a case together tonight. Yeah—I'll call you when we finish up in the morning. ------- Me, too. Bye," was the part of the conversation that Catherine heard.

"Ready?" a frustrated Catherine inquired of Sara.

"Yeah. I thought you were grabbing a jacket," Sara asked.

"I checked my locker. I always keep a jacket in there—and never need it. Now, when I need it, I can't find the damn thing. I suppose I'll have to rough it," Catherine said grumpily as she climbed into the truck.

Instead of getting into the driver's seat immediately, Sara opened the rear gate and pulled out a hoodie. "Here, you can wear this," Sara said to Catherine as she tossed it to her and climbed into the truck.

"Thanks," a stunned Catherine answered as she pulled the hoodie over her head.

_It smells like her. God, I hope she didn't notice me smiling as I smelled it._

"It doesn't stink does it?" Sara asked. "I saw you smelling it. I usually wear it when I go jogging in the mornings. I just washed it a couple of days ago."

"No, it doesn't smell. As a matter of fact, I was just about to ask you what perfume you wear. It smells nice—very subtle and not overpowering."

"I don't wear perfume. Do I really look like the perfume type?" Sara laughed as she responded.

"No, I guess not. I suppose it just smells like…._you._"

"I never really thought of myself as having a particular smell. But if you say so…" Sara blushed.

_She probably has no idea how adorable she is right now. Blushing—that's a nice color on her._

A few minutes later, the pair arrived on the scene, exited the vehicle and grabbed their kits. "In or out?" Catherine said.

"I'll take the outside and you can start inside. I'll help you as soon as I'm done out here."


	6. Chapter 6

_Every single time I move, I can stir Sara's smell from her hoodie. I'm a total goner. How the fuck am I supposed to work around her, much less with her? She's probably almost finished outside and I'm still standing in here trying to get over the fact that she gave me something to wear to keep me warm. I better get to work or we'll be stuck out here all night. I'll just start in . the master bath where the first vic was found. Shit. Damn. Is that who I think it is?_

"Detective Curtis. I didn't realize you were handling this case," Catherine said with contempt in her voice.

"Yes, Brass was tied up with another case so I said I'd deal with a double for him," she answered coolly. "Are you working this alone—or is anyone with you?"

Catherine studied her for a moment. "Sara's working the outside."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. What shade of lipstick do you wear, Detective?"

"Catherine, I don't wear lipstick. Why do you ask?"

"If that's the case, you may want to clean that off of your lips and collar before you head out to see Sara," Catherine declared.

Sofia nearly doubled over laughing. "Let me get this straight. You think I should clean the lipstick off my collar and wipe it off of my lips before I go and speak to Sara? …….OH---MY—GOD!!! You think that Sara and I----? This is hilarious. Does she know that you think we're—dating?"

"Why would I talk to Sara about who she's dating?"

"Probably because you wish she was dating you. That is the issue here, isn't it, Catherine? You want Sara, but she turned you down. Right?"

"How—how did you know?" Catherine said rather confused.

"We had breakfast two maybe three weeks ago and she said someone in the office had made a move on her. She didn't tell me who—just that it was a female co-worker. Since I'm actually seeing Wendy, that really only left one other female in the lab," Sofia said, still laughing. "Catherine Willows has the hots for Sara Sidle. Wow! I never had you pegged as someone who desired female companionship, but I must say you do have good taste."

"You're dating Wendy? Thank goodness, because I was tired of her asking me out. Is that all that she said—that a coworker was putting the moves on her? I have to admit, Sofia, this is pretty new territory for me. I've only had relationships with men and the occasional fling with a woman. Sara's the first woman that I can imagine having a relationship with. Am I crazy?"

"I'd say you were crazy if you _weren't_ interested in her. But you are fucking stupid for treating her like shit. You could have had her by now if you weren't always so bitchy toward her. All she wants is for you to respect her and her abilities. First of all, she thinks you hate her because of the way you've treated her since she came to Vegas. And she thinks that you take every opportunity presented to you to belittle her work. And you treat her like she's inept—incapable of processing a scene. I'm not expert, but you won't be staring into her eyes anytime soon unless you adjust your attitude—and soon. She's been talking about either moving back to San Francisco or going to Boston. She won't sit around forever and wait for you to realize what's right in front of you."

Catherine felt like she was being lectured by her mother. She knew that everything Sofia was saying to her was true. She knew that she was sometimes cruel to Sara, but had never considered just how damaging her treatment of Sara had been to any sort of relationship (even a friendship) she might have with the younger CSI.

Sofia turned to leave the room and Catherine grabbed her arm. "Thank you. I needed to hear that. Of course, you could have told me that a few weeks ago, but thanks for telling me now."

"No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go speak to Sara," Sofia said as she exited the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Catherine was kneeling in front of the dresser in the bedroom looking through the drawers when Sara noticed her through the French doors in the bedroom. Catherine was so engaged in what she was doing that she didn't even notice that she was being watched. Sara stood there, as was her wont to do, and watched Catherine.

"You two are something else. If you ever get your shit together, you'll make one helluva couple," Detective Curtis said as she approached Sara.

"Hey, Sofia. What are you doing out here?" Sara asked of the leggy blonde.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. We haven't been able to go out lately or talk—conflicting schedules, you know?"

"Conflicting schedules---or a new girlfriend?" Sara questioned with a gap-toothed smile.

"Guilty as charged. I suppose all the evidence is there, isn't it?"

"I would say so. And it doesn't hurt that Greg overheard Wendy on the phone with you a few days ago. And trust me, once Greg knows something—I know it."

"One person who didn't know was Catherine. She even tried to get me to wipe Wendy's lipstick off of my collar and lips before I came out here to see you. I guess she didn't want you to catch me cheating on you," Sofia stated very matter of factly.

"Really?"

"Really. If I had to guess, I'd say that she's a bit jealous. Green goes great with that hair of hers," Sofia chuckled as she walked away.

Sara entered the room that Catherine was processing with Catherine realizing she was there. Catherine was on her knees in the closet of one of the women who had been murdered. Even with the hoodie on, Sara noticed a patch of bare skin showing in the small of Catherine's back. She couldn't resist the temptation to bend down and do to Catherine exactly what she had done to her weeks earlier. Her timing couldn't have been worse.

Just as she placed her hand on Catherine's back and whispered into her ear, "Anything catch your eye yet?" Catherine had found a box of sex toys and had pulled one out to examine it further.

Sara's face flushed immediately as she realized what Catherine was holding and what she had just said. She knew that she would never live this moment down.

Catherine immediately dropped the toy and turned to face Sara. "Someone—not something-- caught my eye several years ago."

"Yeah? Who would that be?"

Dropping her eyes to the floor, Catherine barely whispered, "You. You caught my eye. And I've been too caught up trying to be the Alpha female in the lab to realize how much I was hurting you. Can you ever even entertain the thought of forgiving me?"


	8. Chapter 8

With a single finger, Sara lifted Catherine's chin so that she was looking in her eyes. As if time itself stood still, Sara leaned in to kiss Catherine. With their lips mere millimeters apart, in walked David from the Coroner's office. "Ladies, I'm ready to take the….Oh….Oh….I'm.."

David was interrupted by Catherine jumping to her feet and saying, "It's about time you got here, David." First vic, is on the other side of the bed there. The second vic is in the bathroom. We were just finishing up here. You can go ahead and take the bodies. Page me when Doc Robbins gets ready to do the post. I want to be there."

Catherine packed her kit and exited the room as Sara just stood slack-jawed. "Sara, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was interrupt---" David tried to explain.

"It's no problem, David. You didn't interrupt anything," Sara said as she hastily removed herself from the room.

Still trying to figure out if it was David's entrance that made Catherine jump up and leave so quickly or if it was the situation itself, Sara walked toward the Denali. She didn't see Catherine as she loaded her kit into the rear of the truck. She did take notice of the fact that Catherine's kit was already in the truck.

She approached the driver's side of the truck and as she opened the door to get it, a hand was placed flat against her chest. "You can ride shotgun. I'm driving us back to the lab."

Defeated, Sara walked to the passenger side of the Denali and climbed in. She put on her seat-belt and sat staring out the window as Catherine started their drive back to the lab.

She must have drifted off during the drive back to the lab, because she woke up to Catherine's hand on her thigh, gently shaking it and softly saying her name, "Sara. Sara. Wake up. We're at the lab. You can sleep later. Let's get the evidence checked in. Come on, Sar—wake up."

"Mmmm….give me five more minutes and then I'll be ready," Sara said as she turned her head to the other side.

Catherine smile one helluva wicked smile and moved as close to Sara as she could in the Denali. With one hand, she started at Sara's knee and slowly slid her hand up her thigh. At the same time, she whispered into Sara's ear, "Maybe I should let you sleep now so that I can keep you up later."

"Huh?" was all she said wide-eyed and suddenly very alert.

"I said, how about we have breakfast after the shift at my house?" Catherine said smiling.

"Cath, I'd love to. But I already have other plans," Sara said regretfully.

"Oh. No big deal, some other time then," and Catherine quickly exited the SUV.

Sitting there stunned, Sara seemed to have come to her senses. Catherine had not only asked her to have breakfast, but to have it at her house. _What the hell was I thinking saying no?_

"Cath, wait up," Sara called. But it was no use, Catherine swung the door open and sashayed into the building.

Catching up with her, Sara grabbed her by the arm. "Damn it. Give me a chance to explain."

"No need to explain. I heard you on the cell before we headed out to the scene telling whoever that you'd call them as soon as we were done tonight. You obviously have other plans—and that's okay," Catherine said sullenly.

"You're right. I do have other plans. But don't you even care who they're with?"

"Not really." And with that, Catherine checked her evidence in and left for the morning.

_Damn. It's not like I knew when I made these plans that she was going to ask me for breakfast._


	9. Chapter 9

_Finally, I can get some sleep. I'll just go straight to bed. Nancy has a key and can't let Lindsay in when she brings her home. All she's going to do is watch cartoons or play online for a few hours anyway. That gives me a chance to get a little sleep. And after the night I've had, I need it. I can't believe that Sara finally shows some interest in me and then turns me down when I ask her to come over for breakfast. 'Other plans' were made to be broken. I'm just not important enough for her. Well, that obviously gives me a chance to spend some more time with Linds today. If Sara had come home with me for breakfast, I'd probably have called Nancy and told her to keep Lindsay for the day. At least this way, I get to spend some much needed time with my "not so little anymore" girl._

"Mom? Mom! M-O-M!!!" Lindsay was yelling as she entered the house. "Hmmmpphh. She must be sleeping," Lindsay said aloud as she walked down the hall to her mom's room. _Yep, sound asleep._

Lindsay was planted firmly in front of the television only moments later when her cell phone rang. "Hello."

"Hey, kiddo. We still on for today?" the voice on the other end of the line said.

"Yeah, Mom is asleep and probably will be until I wake her up. So, we're good."

"Okay, I'll see you in a little bit, Short Stuff."

"Don't call me that. You know I hate that," Lindsay said playfully.

"Okay, Miss Midget. I'll see you in a few minutes."

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Lindsay practically left her shadow in front of the television because she ran so quickly to answer the door.

"Mom is still asleep. Did you bring everything?" Lindsay asked as Sara just stood on the door step. "Come on in."

"Yes, I brought everything we'll need. Did your mom tell you to wake her up or anything?"

"No. She was asleep when Aunt Nancy dropped me off. She's normally still up when I get home. I thought you two must have had a rough night if she went straight to bed," Lindsay explained.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that we had a rough night. Look, Linds, does your mom _even_ know that I'm here?"

"So anyway," Lindsay hedged, avoiding an answer, "how do we make this gel stuff?"

Shocked, Sara said, "Lindsay! Please tell me that you cleared this with your mom before I came over here."

"Not exactly. Sara, please don't be mad. My teacher said we couldn't get our parents to help us, so I couldn't ask Mom. I don't really have anyone else who could help and if I had asked her, she would have said that she would just help me and that I shouldn't tell the teacher. I couldn't do that. That's like lying," Lindsay tried to explain herself to Sara.

"Lindsay, I shouldn't be here. Your mom is going to have a fit when she wakes up and finds me of all people in her kitchen," Sara tried to reason with the teen. "Look, you stay here. Unpack everything I brought. I'm going to wake your mom up."

"She won't like that. She can't stand for people to wake her up when she's not ready to get up," the younger Willows warned.

"I'll take my chances."


	10. Chapter 10

Confident that Lindsay would stay in the kitchen and unpack everything that she had brought, Sara walked toward Catherine's bedroom. Finding the door already open, she stood in and took in the sleeping form in front her. Lying on her side, with only a sheet covering her, Sara thought to herself, _She is so beautiful. How could I have ever considered turning her down?_ After checking to make sure that Lindsay was okay (she had gone back to sitting in front of the television), Sara gently closed the bedroom door and approached the bed.

She pulled her shoes off and slowly lifted the sheet to climb into the bed behind Catherine. Never taking her eyes off of Catherine, she slid until her Catherine's back was flush with her chest. She draped an arm over Catherine's waist and laid her hand against the flatness of her stomach. Catherine stirred lightly under her touch and closed any distance that remained between the two of them by backing up as far against her as she could.

Sara reveled in the proximity of Catherine's body to hers. "Cath…Cath…sweetie, wake up," Sara whispered in her ear.

"Mmmm…Sara….," Catherine whispered, obviously not aware of the fact that Sara was in her bed, spooning her.

Sara pressed her lips against Catherine's neck and began to kiss it. At the same time, she began making circles with her palm on Catherine's abdomen. Catherine began to stir beneath her touch. "Cath?"

"Sara, just shut up and don't stop," Catherine said as she turned to face Sara. "I've wanted you in my bed for what feels like forever. Let's not talk. Let's just enjoy this." Catherine finally opened her eyes and looked at Sara. "What the---what the fuck are you doing in my bed?" Catherine bellowed as she pulled back, sat up, and pulled the covers around her all in one swift movement.

"Cath—calm down. I came in to wake you up to explain why I was here. Your daughter is something else. She asked me to—" Sara tried to explain only to be cut off by Catherine.

"What does Lindsay have to do with you being in my bed. Where is she?"

"Relax. She's in the living room watching cartoons—which is where she was when I got here. And as I was trying to explain, she asked me to—"

"Why didn't she tell me you were here? I don't know what has gotten into that girl. She thinks she can do whatever she—"

"Catherine. No offense, but shut the hell up so I can explain why I'm here. As I was saying, she asked me to—"

"Why would she even ask you for an—" Catherine attempted to talk only to find her mouth quickly otherwise engaged. Sara crushed her lips against hers as she pulled Catherine towards her. Instead of fighting the kiss, Catherine gave in to it—willfully allowing Sara to explore her mouth with her tongue. As her need for air increased and she began to feel lightheaded, Sara broke the kiss. "Now let me finish explaining. Okay? So, anyway, Lindsay asked me to—"

Sara found herself interrupted—once again---but only this time by Catherine kissing her. She pressed Sara to the bed and straddled her as she continued to kiss her. Being the strong-willed woman that she was, Sara wasn't about to let Catherine have the upperhand in this situation.

Just as quickly as Catherine had pinned her, Sara had managed to reverse their positions—effectively pinning Catherine to the bed. "Damn it, you're going to listen to me. Your daughter asked me to help her with a science fair project. I didn't realize she hadn't talked to you about this until I arrived. As soon as I got the little weasel to fess up, I came back here to wake you up and explain it to you. The last thing I wanted was for you to wake up and find me—of all people—in your kitchen with your daughter. But when I stood in the doorway and saw you sleeping---and saw how beautiful you were---I couldn't resist climbing into the bed behind you. And I realized something when I did. It felt right. And in that instant, I knew that I had everything I could ever want within my reach. No, I take that back. Not everything I want—everything I need."

Sitting up as much as Sara's body would allow her, Catherine took Sara's face in her hands and simply said, "You're all _I_ need, baby."


	11. Chapter 11

"Sar, baby, why are you crying? What's wrong?" Cath asked with her voice full of concern.

"Catherine, what if I can't do this?" Sara said motioning with her hands between the two of them as she rolled off of Catherine.

"Look, so far, we haven't done anything that should make you feel like you can't 'do this.' Why can't we just take this one day at a time and see what happens? If there's one thing I've learned in all my years, it's that you never know what the future holds for any relationship. Just let this happen—let's not rush it."

Not wanting the intimacy of the previous moments to escape, Catherine rolled back over and lay on top of Sara. After she planted delicate kisses along Sara's jaw, Catherine whispered, "Is it okay for me to do this?" Sara merely nodded her head as she placed her hands on Catherine's hips. Catherine lowered her mouth to Sara's neck and began lightly nipping at her pulse point. She heard Sara audibly gasp at the sensation. "Is it okay for me to do this, too?" Smiling to herself, Catherine slid her hands under Sara's shirt and began moving them up to her chest.

Suddenly, Sara found her voice, "Cath, please stop. This isn't a good idea."

Dumbfounded, Catherine immediately stopped moving her hands, but left them under Sara's shirt and remained on top of her. "I think this is a very good idea. Do you really want me to stop?"

"Yes, I do." Seeing the hurt in Catherine's eyes, she knew she had to explain herself. "Lindsey is in the other room. I don't want her walking in on this—on us." Placing a hand on either side of Catherine's face, she continued to explain, "Let's do this right. We'll go out some, see where that takes us—before we get too serious physically."

"Sara Sidle, are you afraid to have sex with me?"

Catherine's bluntness caught her by surprise. "Afraid to have sex with you? No, I'm not afraid. If this was just about sex, I never would've stopped you. If that's all is for you, then tell me now and we can do this—once Lindsey's not in the house—and that'll be it. But I was kinda thinking this was more than something physical—it is for me at least."

"Wow! You're for real, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am," Sara said more seriously than she had ever said anything in her life.

"M-o-m! S-a-r-a!" Lindsey said as she opened the door. "What are you two doing?" she asked as she stared at her mother laying on top of Sara. They both had that "deer in the headlight look" going on and were just staring at Lindsey as she stood there waiting for an answer.

"Your mom was just helping me with something, Lindsey. We'll be out in a minute," Sara tried to answer calmly.

"Helping you with what? I'm not stupid, you know? Were you two kissing?"

"Lindsey Willows, get out of here this instant. Go back to the living room. We'll be out there in just a moment," Catherine suddenly found herself being a bit more stern with Lindsey than she had been in recent memory.

"Oh my god. The look on your face was priceless. And you stammering over your words trying to come up with an explanation as to why I'm on top of you," Catherine laughed.

"I don't think this is funny, Cath. She shouldn't see us like this. She's only a kid. This sort of thing isn't healthy for her," Sara snapped back.

"Please, it's not like it's the first time she's saw me in bed with a woman," Catherine said as she continued to downplay the situation. "But, you…you trying to explain with the lame excuse that I was 'helping you'…now that was hysterical. Sofia just pulled the sheet over her when---"

_Did she just say Sofia?_

"Sofia? Sofia Curtis? You slept with Sofia?" Sara exclaimed as she slid from beneath Catherine and moved towards the door, grabbing her shoes as she did.


	12. Chapter 12

"You're getting upset because I slept with other women before we met? We haven't even slept together and you're already getting weird, Sara."

"Could you lower your voice, please? Your daughter doesn't need to hear every detail of our conversation," Sara said through gritted teeth.

"You asked me a question. You asked if I slept with Sofia. I want to answer that," Catherine said, her voice calmer than it had been during her previous response.

"You know what, Catherine. You don't owe me any explanations. We both have pasts. The world just doesn't know all about mine," Sara realized she had gone too far with the last statement.

"I was a dancer," Catherine said.

"A stripper, to be exact, right Cath?"

"Fuck you, Sara Sidle. And as for Sofia—I didn't have sex with her. I didn't make love to her. She fucked me. We went out drinking—mostly to drown our sorrows over what we couldn't have—and she ended up fucking me."

"Oh, so you couldn't have me, so you fuck Sofia. Really bright move there, Catherine. Maybe you should add whore to your job experiences. Nothing makes me want someone more than knowing that they fucked someone else because they couldn't have me."

Catherine quickly crossed the room and slapped Sara hard across the face. Without saying a word, Sara turned and left the room.

Catherine collapsed with her back against the bed and began sobbing, fearing that she had lost Sara without having really had her.

Lindsey was sitting on the couch when Sara entered the living room. Sara sat beside her and said, "Linds, can we talk? I mean, have a serious discussion."

"I guess so. Why would you want to talk to me? I'm just a kid."

"We both know that you're a lot brighter than most people give you credit for, kiddo." Her last remark garnered a smile from Lindsey.

"Look, what you walked in on back there, with your mom and me—I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

"The wrong idea? You mean you two aren't dating?" Lindsey asked with sincerity in her voice.

"No, we're not dating. I had hoped we might, but your mom and I have a lot of different feelings about things. I don't think it's a good idea for us to be together—to date. Your mom is a wonderful woman. She's bright, funny, gorgeous—and incredibly lucky to have a daughter like you. And I'm—well, I'm not certain I'm what she needs," Sara attempted to explain to the teen girl.

"Does this mean you're not going to be my friend anymore, Sara?" Lindsey asked with tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea, Lindsey."

"But what did I do wrong?"

She gathered the little girl in her arms and tried to explain further. "Lindsey, remember how your mom and dad were married once, and then they weren't?"

"Because they fought all the time and daddy hurt her and he drank a lot, right?"

"Exactly. Well, just like your daddy hurt your mom, I'm afraid I'll hurt her too. I was pretty mean to her a little while ago and I love you---and her—too much to ever hurt her. One day, someone is going to realize how wonderful your mom is and will make her extremely happy. And they'll love you so much, you won't know what to do," Sara explained to the youngest Willows. "Do you understand kiddo?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. I wish things were different though," Lindsey said through her tears.

"Me, too," was all Sara could muster to say as she sat Lindsey on the couch, kissed her on the head and walked out of the house.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm sorry, Sara. There's no way I can let you take any days off right now. Catherine has called in sick for the last four days and called today and said she had some sort of emergency she had to take care of. She's taking the week off. I can't have both of you out right now," Grissom explained.

"Fine," Sara said as she stormed out of his office.

"Greg, you're with me. Grissom gave us a DB at one of the strip clubs," Sara said as she walked past the break room.

"You've been uncharacteristically grumpy the last few days. What's up with you?" Greg asked as they drove toward the scene.

"None of your fucking business, Greg. My moods are none of your business, get it?"

"Got it. I just don't know why you're—"

"If you have any sense at all, you won't finish that question," Sara said with a warning in her voice.

They arrived at the scene a few minutes later. As they grabbed their kits and headed toward the club, Sara instructed Greg to take care of the perimeter before coming inside. "But we never worry about the perimeter on these cases until we've interviewed the witnesses and sketched the inside," Greg responded.

"I'm the primary. Either do what the fuck I tell you to do, or get your ass back in the truck and wait on me. Understand?"

"Yeah, Sara. I understand perfectly," Greg said with hurt in his voice.

Sara hadn't even seen the detective walk towards her. "Is there a problem here? I thought you CSIs were all one big family?" Sofia said smiling.

"Yeah, well, as a detective, I guess you don't get to practice that whole _thinking_ thing too often, do you?"

"Excuse me?"

Sara felt like Sofia was challenging her. "All I'm saying is that you don't have to do a whole lot of thinking in your line of work. I mean, we do most of it for you guys," Sara said. She was begging for a fight.

"Sara, I don't know what your problem is, but you're way out of line here. What has gotten in to you? The last time I saw you, you were all ga-ga over Catherine and—wait a minute, does this have something to do with Catherine? She called me to say she was going out of town for a few days, but—"

"She called you? She called YOU?"

"Yeah, we're friends. I thought we were friends, too. Was I wrong about that?" Sofia said.

"Yeah, you were," Sara said as she started towards the crime scene.

Sofia ran up behind her and grabbed her arm, wanting to stop her so that they could continue this conversation. Sofia wasn't prepared for what was about to happen. As she grabbed one of Sara's arms, she turned around and swung at Sofia. Her fist connected solidly with Sofia's jaw and knocked her square on her ass. "You fucked her. You fucked her, Sofia. How could you?"

Officers began running towards the two women. One attempted to restrain Sara as Sofia got to her feet. "Let her go," she said and the officer released his grip on Sara.

Looking Sofia square in the eye, Sara bent down to pick up her kit and as she did, she said, "You're fucking bitch, Curtis."

"Yeah, well, I may be a bitch, but Sara Sidle, you're under arrest for assaulting a police officer. Someone tell CSI Sanders that he'll need to find another CSI to process the scene with him. Sara, place your hands on the hood of the truck."

"Sofia, are you fucking serious? First your fuck Catherine and now you're arresting me? Un-fucking-believable. Fine, arrest me. I don't care."

"Sara, we both know that's a lie," Sofia said as she patted Sara down, read her rights to her, and cuffed her. Before Sara had time to fully appreciate what was going on, she was in the back of a squad car ready to be driven down town.

"Oh, for the record, Sara," Sofia said as she was shutting the door to the squad car, "I never fucked Catherine. We were both way too drunk for that. We shared a bed, but we didn't fuck. If Catherine thinks we did, then I obviously need to correct her." With that, the door closed and the officer drove Sara to the precinct.

"You hit an officer?" was all the Grissom could say. "You hit an officer."

"Actually, I didn't hit an officer. I hit Detective Sofia Curtis," Sara said flippantly.

"What were you thinking? You've been in so much trouble here, Sara. I'm not sure Vegas was the place for you after all. In the last year, you've had the DUI and now assaulting a police officer. Ecklie already didn't like you. You know I'm probably going to have to fire you? Does that even bother you?"

Sara just sat there stoically.

"Have you called anyone?" he asked her. "Sara, are you even listening? Fine, just sit in jail and rot."

_I'm rotting from the inside out. What does it matter if I sit in jail and rot?_


	14. Chapter 14

"Sofia dropped the charges against you," she said as she stood outside Sara's cell.

"What are you doing here? Grissom said you went out of town to take care of an emergency," Sara questioned.

"No, I never went out of town. I simply said I needed some time to take care of a family emergency. And I did. We can discuss that later. Right now, let's get your out of here."

"Catherine, why are you here?"

"I'll explain on the way to my house," Catherine said as she placed an arm around Sara's shoulder and guided her out of the jail. "My god, don't they let you shower down here?"

"Very funny."

They drove to Catherine's house in silence. "Lindsey is with my mother for the next three days. So, it'll just be me and you."

"Whoa, Catherine. I don't know what you have in mind—"

"Sara, do us both a favor and shut up. If you'd just shut up sometimes, you'd be a lot better off, you know that?"

"What?"

"You heard me. You run your mouth and jump to conclusions without thinking things through. Not only that, you fly off the handle and punched Sofia. What the hell were you thinking when you did that?"

"What was I thinking? I was thinking that Sofia had touched you. I was thinking that Sofia has kissed places on your body that I would never get to kiss. I was thinking that she had…"

"Shhhh. Sara, you can't think about that. I talked with Sofia. Well, She didn't talk much—thanks to that punch you landed. She says we didn't do anything. According to her, I had one hell of a sex dream, but that she never laid a hand on me."

"I know, she told me as she was putting me in the back of the squad car that she never fucked you. I've fucked up really bad, haven't I, Cath?"

"Yes and no. You landed yourself a suspension from the lab. If Sofia hadn't dropped the charges, you'd have lost your job. By the way, you have Wendy to thank for that."

"And what about us?" Sara asked sheepishly.

"Well, I don't know where we stand just yet. How about you go and take a shower while I fix us something to eat? We have the next three days to figure all of this out."

"Cath, I don't have any clothes here to wear."

"Oh, yes you do. I went by your place on my way to the jail and picked up some clothes for you. They're in the bag by the door that I brought in when we got home."

"Thanks, Cath," Sara said as she walked down the hall towards the spare bathroom.

"Sar, use my bathroom. I have no idea when Lindsey last cleaned hers."


	15. Chapter 15

As Sara went to step into Lindsey's bathroom, she heard Catherine call out to her telling her to use her bathroom. She walked past the little girl's bathroom and proceeded to the room at the end of the hall—Catherine's bedroom. She entered the bathroom from here. Upon seeing the large garden tub that occupied an entire corner of the bathroom, Sara opted for a relaxing hot bath instead of a shower.

Half an hour had passed and Sara had not reappeared. Catherine walked toward her master suite and called Sara's name and received no answer. She noticed that the lights were out in the bathroom, but it was illuminated by a soft glow and music was flowing from sound system. She called Sara's name as she pushed the door open and walked inside. She could clearly make out Sara's sleeping form in the tub. She smiled to herself and walked over and sat on the edge of the tub.

She ran her fingertips through Sara's damp hair. "You're gonna prune up if you don't get out of there soon," Catherine said quietly to Sara. Sara leaned into Catherine's touch and never opened her eyes.

"Cath, what are you doing in here? Shit, I must've fallen asleep. How long have I been in here?"

"I just got worried because it had been about 30 minutes and you hadn't come out. I just wanted to check on you. I'll leave so you can finish your bath," Catherine said as she stood up and started to walk out of the bathroom. Sara's voice stopped her.

"Cath, I didn't mean to…what I mean to say is that I'm sor---"

"Sar, it's okay. You've been through a lot. We've been through a lot. Let's just go easy on one another, okay?" With that she turned and planted a kiss on the top of Sara's head and walked back to the kitchen.

Catherine returned to put the finishing touches on the dinner she had been preparing. She wasn't the greatest cook in the world, but limiting her choices to those of a vegetarian had placed a great strain on her culinary creativity. She had, however, managed to create a meal that she was certain wouldn't prove too distasteful. She pulled the eggplant parmesan out of the oven as Sara stepped into the kitchen.

"How did you know which clothes to grab for me? These are my absolute favorite "around the house" clothes," Sara said as she plopped down at the bar. "That smells delicious. I'm absolutely famished."

"Well, I figured that your favorite clothes were probably the ones that were still in your dryer. You aren't really the ironing kind, are you?"

Laughing at the truth in Catherine's statement, Sara just smiled and nodded. "Look, Cath, I think I owe you—"

"Would you mind setting the table for us? The plates are there and the silver is in that drawer there. What do you want to drink? There's wine, beer, soda, water, liquor in the cabinet…SHIT!"

Sara quickly turned, "What's wrong?"

"I grabbed the damn dish I just pulled out of the oven. Dammit that hurt."

Sara took her hand and walked her over to the sink and ran cool water over it. "Do you have any aloe or some burn ointment?"

"No, I'll be …." Catherine was unable to complete her sentence momentarily as Sara planted a very chaste kiss on her burn, "…fine."

"Keep it under the water for a moment, okay?" Sara said as she placed one hand on the small of Catherine's back to keep her at the sink. Catherine's body immediately responded to Sara's touch and she closed her eyes to savor the sensation for a moment. "I can't believe you're a CSI and you have a kid in the house, yet you have no aloe or burn ointment. Shame on you Catherine Willows."

"Well, I don't let Lindsey mess with things that will cause her to get burned. And generally, I'm able to focus on what I'm doing so that I don't burn myself on hot objects," Catherine responded.

"Well, accidents happen, as you just found out. You just stay here. I'll finish setting the table and putting the food there for us, too." With that, Sara turned to finish setting the table. After the dishes, silver and plates were on the table, she walked toward the refrigerator to grab water for the two of them.

"Water?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah, you know I don't drink much anymore. If you want something though, I'm fine with that."

"Yeah, I think I'll have a drink. I'll fix it. You can go ahead and have a seat."

Catherine grabbed a bottle of vodka and a tumbler before having a seat opposite Sara at the table.


	16. Chapter 16

Catherine caught the look that Sara gave her as she sat down with the tumbler and vodka and immediately got back up and went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water, placing the tumbler of vodka she had already poured on the counter. _I don't want to be drunk for this and it's certainly not right to sit here and drink in front of Sara. I mean, I wouldn't eat chocolate in front of a diabetic, shouldn't drink in front of someone with a problem with alcohol._

"I think I'd prefer water after all," Catherine said as she sat back down.

"No need to stay sober for my sake. It's your house, you can do whatever you want, Cath," Sara replied between bites of food. "This is really good."

Dinner went by quickly accompanied by light conversation between the two women. Sara stood and began to clear the table as they finished their dinner. "Why don't you go and have a seat in the living room? I'll clean up in here since you went and burned your hand and everything." Sara said with a gap-toothed grin.

Catherine took her bottle of water and went to the living room. "Sar, how about we watch a movie when you're done in the kitchen?"

"That's fine. Pick out something good—nothing too cheesy," Sara said over running water. "Got any comedies?"

"Let's see…lots of Disney movies."

"No Disney movies. Those are for kids," Sara said from the kitchen.

"Hmm--how about a drama? Something intense?"

"Nothing I have to think about too much. I just want to relax."

Catherine's eyes lit up. "I'll be right back. I think I have just the right thing in the bedroom," she called as she walked down the hall to the master suite.

Sara was placing the last of the dried dishes back in cabinet when Catherine came back from the bedroom. "Took you long en—Wow, you look nice, Cath. You changed?"

Catherine kind of stopped and twirled on the ball of one foot. "You really like this? I just wanted to put something on a little more comfortable."

"Well, it, uh, definitely looks comfortable. Are you sure you'll be warm enough in that?" Sara asked as her eyes traveled over all of the exposed flesh of Catherine's body. While Catherine appeared to be very comfortable in the short, teal satin chemise and matching robe, Sara was quickly becoming uncomfortable. She broke her stare, turned back to cleaning the kitchen and asked Catherine, "Did you manage to find something for us to watch?"

"Oh, yeah. I found something that I think we'll both enjoy. I've already loaded it," Catherine said as she walked toward Sara. As Sara was wiping the counter off, Catherine let her hands slide around her waist, "Sara, I think the kitchen is good. Now let's go watch a movie. It was your idea, after all."

Sara turned to face Catherine. "Cath, what are you doi—"

Her question was silenced by Catherine's kiss. "Come on, hun. I wanna watch some television," Catherine said as she took Sara's hands and started to pull her toward the living room.

"Hold on," Sara said as she picked up the tumbler of vodka and put it to her lips and downed it in one gulp.

"Sara, that was vodka. I didn't think you were supposed to drink anymore."

She didn't reply, she just took Catherine's hand in hers and led her to the couch and said, "Just push play." Sara couldn't believe her eyes when the movie started. "Catherine Willows. Is this what I think it is?"

Catherine just turned to her, smiled, and nodded.


	17. Chapter 17

"Catherine, where did you get this? Something tells me that you would _never_ buy something like this," Sara said with shock ringing in her voice.

"Now Sara, I didn't have you pegged as a prude. Do you mean to tell me that you never watched a movie like this before?" Catherine asked in the sexiest voice she could muster.

"I—uh. I didn't say I had never seen one before. I just…well, I've never watched one with someone before," Sara confessed with a blush creeping into her face.

"Oh, I see. Hmmm, usually only men like these. Something in their chemistry makes them more susceptible to visual stimulation than females tend to be. Now women, on the other hand, tend to be more affected by auditory and kinesthetic stimulation," Catherine explained as she slid closer to Sara on the couch.

"Really? I didn't know that," Sara sarcastically replied. "I guess I'm not a typical woman because I'm very easily visually stimulated," she said as her eyes once again traveled over Catherine's body.

"Oh really? Well, since that's the case, maybe we shouldn't watch this. I'd hate to get you all turned on."

Ignoring Catherine's last statement and keeping her eyes fixed on the television, Sara inquired, "So, you normally watch these?"

"I will indulge occasionally. Every now and then I borrow one of these from the guys," Catherine confessed.

"From the guys? You mean this belongs to Warrick or Nick? Ewwww!"

"Oh god no! I don't literally mean 'from the guys.' I, uh, don't be mad, okay? I borrow one every now and then from Sofia."

"Why would I get mad about that? Shit, if I'd known Sofia had her own girl on girl porn collection, I might have been borrowing them from her," Sara said with a gap-toothed smile. "Now, lemme watch the movie." Sara turned her complete attention back to the television. After a few minutes, she turned to Catherine and said, "You don't mind if I sit on the floor do you?" Without waiting for a response from Catherine, Sara slipped off of the couch and sat on the floor with her back against the couch.

Taking advantage of having the couch completely to herself, Cath lay down on her side. She scooted forward on the sofa so that she was as close to Sara as she could get. Instead of watching the movie, she spent her time watching Sara watch the movie. She inwardly decided that just watching the movie wasn't working to her advantage. There had been some subtle flirting between her and her companion, but nothing serious. She was going to have to step this up. She let her fingers begin to play in Sara's hair and every now and then brush over the exposed skin of her neck. Each time she did, she could feel Sara's reaction through her fingertips. Sara never turned to face her or acknowledge what she was doing. After a few moments, Catherine leaned forward near her ear and whispered, "That's a difficult position to stay in for so long."

She could hear Sara's breathing hitch and she smiled to herself. _This is going to be so much fun!_ After a few more minutes, she leaned in once again and said, "Mmmmm…I haven't done that in ages." Sara gasped and began to shift in her position on the floor.

Instead of simply running her hands through Sara's hair, Catherine grabbed a handful of hair and without protest from Sara, pulled her head backwards towards her mouth. Catherine began to kiss and lightly suck on Sara's neck. She heard a low moan escape from Sara's mouth following by her sweetly calling her name. Catherine moved back to Sara's ear and in a sexy, husky voice said, "I think I'm heading to bed." And with that, she got up from the couch and left a very stunned Sara sitting on the floor in the living room.


	18. Chapter 18

As soon as Catherine entered her bedroom, she shed the robe she was wearing and began to light the various candles she had scattered around the room. She turned on the sound system in the bedroom so that it was very low. She turned around and Sara was leaning against the doorframe. "You had this all planned out, didn't you?" she asked Catherine.

"Look, the last time you were here, you left on less than amiable terms. We were in the middle of something and you up and left," Catherine explained.

"If my memory serves me correctly, I didn't just up and leave. First of all, your daughter was in the other room and then she walked in on us. Second of all, you told me that you and Curtis…well, you know what you told me. What did you expect me to do with all of that information?"

"Sara, we have no excuses anymore. Lindsey isn't here and won't be back for a few days. And as for Sofia, well, we both know the truth about that now. I don't know about you, but I'm sick and fucking tired of fighting with you. You are the most amazing woman I've ever met. You manage to get under my skin like no one else. You piss me off and turn me on all in the same instant. Now, we either do something about this or one of us is going to have to qui—"

Catherine's tirade was cut short by Sara's kiss. "I don't really want to fight with you anymore either," was all Sara could muster to say between kisses. She tried to take control of the situation but quickly found herself pressed against a wall by Catherine's body. "Cath, how adventurous are you feeling?" Sara smirked as she asked.

"Mmmm….what did you have in mind baby?"

"Well, I did get a few ideas from that movie and from your comments," Sara replied as she picked Catherine up and felt Cath's legs wrap around her.

"Really?" she asked as she planted soft kisses on Sara's lips. "I think you might find what you're looking for in the bottom left drawer in the bathroom," Catherine said as she unwrapped her legs from Sara's waist and walked toward the bed. "I'll just get comfortable and let you look for something you like."

Sara walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She was suddenly feeling very self-conscious. What was she getting into with Catherine? She had never really been with a woman and wasn't quite sure that Catherine understood that. Regardless, she had started something here and she was going to have to finish it. She crossed to the sink and opened the bottom left drawer. She heard herself whisper _oh my god_ as she took in the contents of the drawer. There were implements of every size, shape and color in there. _Think, Sara. What was going happening in that movie when Cath said she hadn't done that in ages. What were they doing? Oh yeah, that blonde was on her knees and the other woman was behind her…okay, I know which party favor to choose now._ _Will I even know what to do with this? I'm going to die of embarrassment if I fuck this up._ With that, Sara chose the strap-on, slipped it on, and pulled her flannel pants back on and exited the bathroom.

"Find something you like?" Catherine asked as she crawled toward the foot of the bed and wrapped her arms around Sara and began to kiss her.

"You could say that. But Cath, I need to tell you something before we go any further. You do realize that I've never—well, you'll be the first woman I've been with," Sara confessed.

"Baby, it'll be fine. This is probably the easiest thing you'll ever do. Just do what your instincts tell you to do, okay?"

"Go with my instincts? I think I can do that," Sara replied as she pushed Catherine back on the bed and began to kiss her way up her legs and over her thighs. She took the hem of Catherine's chemise in her hands and began to pull it up as she trailed kisses over her abdomen. "Aren't you going to help me take this off of you?" Sara asked Catherine.

"Nope."

With that, Sara straddled Catherine's hips. She ran her hands over the fabric and up and over Catherine's breast. She could feel Catherine's body reacting to her touch. She came to the top of the chemise and gripped the material in her hands. "Since you're not going to cooperate," was what Sara hissed as she ripped the material in her hands and savagely lowered her mouth to one of Catherine's exposed breasts. She felt Catherine arch into her and she suck on one nipple while the fingers of her right hand rolled the other nipple between her fingertips. She could hear Catherine's moans and unintelligible ramblings. "I'm afraid of hurting you," Sara said as she covered Catherine's mouth with her own.

"Don't be," was all Catherine said as their eyes connected. She knew that Sara was holding back and trying to be gentle. "Make me yours, baby. Remember everything I've said and done to you. Show me how wrong I was about you. Show me what I've been missing all these years."

With that, Sara rolled off of Catherine and began to pull her clothes off. As Sara pulled her pajama bottoms off, Catherine saw what she was wearing and gasped. "I want you to ride me, Catherine," Sara stated simply.


	19. Chapter 19

Sara never took her eyes off of Catherine's as she first straddled her and then lowered herself on her. Catherine closed her eyes took Sara's hands in hers and she began to slowly raise and lower herself onto Sara. As Catherine would lower herself, Sara would lift her hips to meet her halfway. She began to pick up the pace and Catherine responded in kind. Catherine's grip on her hands tightened and Sara could tell that Catherine's release was approaching. She released Catherine's hands and took a nipple in each hand and began twisting and pulling on them. Catherine placed her hands on Sara's chest to brace herself as her orgasm shook her body. She fell forward and collapsed on Sara's body.

Sara didn't want Cath to recover or catch her breath. She rolled them over, never pulling out of Catherine. Placing a hand on either side of Catherine to hold herself up, Sara began to slowly slide in and out of her. Catherine opened her eyes and started to speak. "Don't say a word. The only thing I want coming out of your mouth is you telling me how badly you want me or what you want to do to me. Understand?" Sara said with eyes darkened by lust and desire. Catherine could only nod her consent.

Sara began to change her rhythm. She would slide almost completely out of Catherine very slowly and would quickly fill her up again. A thin sheen of sweat was coating Catherine and her skin was completely flush. Sara slid one hand between them and began to lightly rub Catherine's clit, quickly sending her over the edge. Catherine was bucking beneath her as her orgasm savagely shook her body. She reached up and grabbed Sara holding on to her for dear life as she slowed her pace down and was barely moving within her. Sara started to pull out of Catherine, but Cath quickly wrapped her legs around her, pulling her further into her and said, "You're not done are you, baby? I think I still have one more in me."

"Oh my god, are you serious? Give me a few minutes. I'm not used to this, uh, pace. I just need to catch my breath," Sara reasoned with Catherine. With that, she pried Catherine's legs loose and rolled over onto her back.

"While you're resting, do you mind if I have some fun with you?" Catherine asked. Sara could only nod her consent.

Catherine rolled onto her side and began to trace light circles around Sara's nipples. As her fingers moved away from the nipples, she lowered her mouth and took a nipple between her teeth. She lightly tugged on it as her fingers made their way across Sara's abdomen and towards her core. As they moved over the strap on, Catherine said, "You certainly know how to use this. I think I'm going to leave this on you for now." Cath let her fingers graze Sara's clit as they slid further down between her slick folds. She sucked more of the nipple into her mouth as she slowly slid one finger inside Sara. She met with so little resistance; she quickly added a second finger. "You certainly are wet, baby. Did the movie do this or was it you pumping those seven inches into me that got you like this?"

Sara literally growled and came at the same time. "You did this to me, baby. And this is what I'm about to do you." With that, Sara pushed Catherine onto her stomach and ordered her onto her knees. "When we were watching the movie, you leaned forward and whispered into my ear that you hadn't done this in a while. I knew right then that I wasn't leaving this weekend until I had fucked you in this position. And when you said to check the drawer in the bathroom—I think I came right then, too. And now, all I want is to feel your ass sliding back against me as I push into you." With that, Sara moved behind Catherine and raked her nails down Catherine's back eliciting a cry from Cath. "You know you like that, Cath. You do like it a little on the rough side, right?"

Catherine had to admit, she had never thought Sara had this in her. But, she was _very_ turned on at this moment. Perhaps Sara was the perfect woman after all. No one had ever been able to keep up with Catherine sexually, but she had a feeling that Sara would give her a run for her money. "I'm not sure you understand what rough is, Sara," Catherine managed to reply. "Do you think those scratches were rough?"

Sara, suddenly feeling both challenged and emboldened, wrapped an arm around Catherine's waist and pulled her back flush against her. One hand traveled up her back and took a handful of hair. She forcefully pulled Catherine's hair to bring her head back against her shoulder. She moved her mouth to her ear and through gritted teeth said, "You think that was me being rough? That was an appetizer, Catherine." She lowered her mouth to the pale skin of Catherine's neck and hungrily began to suck and bite. Catherine half moaned, half cried at the sensation of Sara biting her neck.

While she continued to bite and suck on Catherine's neck, leaving bright red marks where her mouth had been, her hands moved to Catherine's chest. She roughly took her breasts in her hands and began to twist and pulled on her nipples as roughly as she thought Catherine could handle. She left one hand on a breast and let the other move down across her abdomen and between her legs. "Mmmm. You're soaking wet, Catherine. Tell me what you want."

Through moans of pleasures and cries of pain, Catherine managed to say, "I want…I want….you to fuck me. Please, Sara."

"My pleasure," Sara said before pushing Catherine away from her so that she was on all fours. "I'll try not to hurt you too bad, Catherine." With that, Sara reached between her legs, grabbed the seven inches of satisfaction she was about to give Catherine and placed it against Catherine's dripping wet opening. She placed a hand on either side of Catherine hips and thrust forward as she pulled Catherine back against her.

"Oh fuck," Cath cried out.

Sara kept her hands on Catherine's hips and continued to pull her toward her as she plowed into her. She could feel her own orgasm building as she fucked Catherine from behind. She took one hand off of Catherine's hip and slapped her on the ass. Catherine moaned in pleasure. "You really are enjoying this, aren't you?" Catherine moaned even louder in response to Sara's question.

"God, Sara you feel so good inside me. Make me cum, baby," Catherine said between whimpers of pleasure.

"You can cum, baby," Sara said as exhaustion was setting in. With that, she started to slide as deep and as hard into Catherine as she could. Catherine soon began to shake and cry out Sara's name. When she collapsed onto the bed, Sara fell onto her, experiencing her own orgasm.

After catching her breath, Sara rolled off on Catherine and removed the strap on. "Oh my fucking god. That was amazing."

"Uh-huh," was all Catherine said as she draped an arm over Sara and soon fell asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

_A few weeks later…_

"We're so glad you two could join us for dinner," Catherine said to Sofia and Wendy as she took Sara's hand in hers.

"Well, it's so nice to see the two of you happy," Wendy said.

"And together. Let's not forget that not only are they happy, they're together," Sofia added.

"You're right, baby. How could I forget that?" Wendy agreed with her girlfriend.

"How about we go dancing? Catherine has been after me for the last couple of weeks to go," Sara asked as she kissed Catherine's hand.

"I love it! Let's go," Sofia said as she excused herself to get their jackets.

"There's this little club downtown that Sofia and I go to sometimes. We could go there," Wendy offered.

"I like that idea. Do we want to ride together or take separate vehicles?" Catherine asked.

"I think we should take separate vehicles. Wendy lives on the other side of town and we'd probably just go there after the club. It makes the most sense," Sofia said.

"Sofia's right," Sara agreed. With that they left the restaurant in separate vehicles on their way to the club that Wendy had told them about. "See, I told you everything was okay between me and Sofia," Sara said as they drove to the club.

"Have you even apologized to her? Or did you just assume that she knows you're sorry?"

"We talked. I'm not sure I ever exactly apologized. I mean, she knows I'm sorry. You think I need to come right out and tell her I'm sorry?"

"I don't think it would hurt. You can't afford—we can't afford—for Sofia to be angry with you," Catherine said.

"Fine, I'll talk to her again—and apologize."

_An hour later in the club…_

Catherine and Sara were dancing on the floor when Wendy approached them and tapped Sara on the shoulder. "Can I cut in?"

"I don't normally give Catherine up so easily, but I'll make an exception for you," Sara said to Wendy. "Where's Sofia?"

"She's at the bar. Go keep her company," Wendy winked.

Sara approached the bar cautiously, still wary of how Sofia would treat her when no one else was around. She walked up behind her, put her hand on her shoulder and said, "Mind if I join you?"

Sofia motioned to the empty barstool beside her. Sara shook her head when the bartender walked over and asked her what she'd have to drink. "Still not drinking?" Sofia asked.

"No, I think it's in my best interest to stay as sober as possible. I've got a good thing going with Cath and I don't want to screw it up. Took me long enough to get her, now I don't want to lose her," Sara said soberly.

"I can understand that. Catherine's not the kind of woman you ever want to lose," Sofia said knowingly.

"Look, Sofia. I know we talked and all, but I want to make sure you know how sorry I am about what happened. I never should have hit you. I'm really, really sorry."

"Yeah, I get it. Look, what's done is done. It's over with, so let's forget it," Sofia said.

Arms snaked around Sara's waist and a mouth pressed to her ear, "Take me home, baby. I'm ready for bed." Catherine winked at Wendy and Sofia and said, "We're gonna hit the road. You two sticking around or going home?"

"I think we'll be going home, too," Sofia said as she wrapped a protective arm around Wendy. "Let's get out of here, sweetheart."

As they were walking out to their respective cars, Sara hand in hand with Catherine, turned to Sofia and said, "So, everything's cool between us, right?"

Sofia said, "Right." Sara turned her attention back to Catherine as they neared her car. As she was shutting the door behind Catherine, she heard Sofia call her name, "Oh, Sara?"

As she turned around, Sofia punched her square in the face. As Sara slid down the side of the car, effectively keeping Catherine from being able to open the door, Sofia said, "Now we're cool."

Sofia would leave Catherine to pick up the pieces and make sure Sara was okay. She was, after all, all that she needed.


End file.
